Page 31 of Hooking
I plant my feet firmly in front of her desk, my jaw clenching. I have to fix this. “I’m not here to see Hayley. I’m here to see you,” I say, watching her movements slow.
“There’s nothing to say, Channing.” Her voice is low, almost inaudible as she pauses what she’s doing. “If you excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be.”
“Cass—” I say, reaching out, holding her elbow gently. “Please let me explain…”
“Explain what?” she says, her eyes hardened with hurt. “Explain how you got a puck bunny pregnant and abandoned her to go on my sham of a honeymoon. Or explain how you started a relationship with me knowing she was pregnant, and you’d never be able to give me what I want.”
“That’s not correct—”
“Well then, what is—”
“Neither of those things are correct,” I say, my voice raising as I cut her off. “Neither of those things are correct. I came here to fix things, make the truth known.” My voice is now lower.
She closes her eyes as she takes a shuddering breath. Everything inside me screams to reach out to her, but I don’t. I stay firmly planted. “There’s nothing to fix,” she says, her gaze finding mine. “There’s nothing to fix. I refuse to be in a secret relationship or share with a puck bunny again.”
“Cass—”
“Don’t. I have to go,” she says, before rushing out of her office, leaving me just as broken.
“So, we are in agreement. We both want what’s best for the fetus,” Natasha’s lawyer says as we sit in the conference room of the Skipjacks main offices.
“It’s a boy,” Natasha snaps. “And yes. I don’t want him growing up in a broken home like I did,” she says, as if she’s not asking me to cut off my own foot and feed it to her.
Talya has told me to go along without whatever she demands and by that, she means let her move in and pretend to play happy little family. It’s a crock of shit if you ask me. But it’s recommended while the PI we hired works to prove this whole thing is a setup.
A setup that has caused my life to go to shit. I try to call Cassidy to explain things, but she never answers. I even stop by her office again to only be told that Cassidy is working from home for the time being.
Which is probably why I drive by her house every day after practice, sit in the car, willing myself to go up to her door and apologize. Yet, I’m frozen. There is no way she’ll forgive me.
“Channing?” My lawyer looks at me with a questioning look. What is she asking? Oh, right, responding to doing the right thing for the baby.
“Uh… yes, I agree,” I say, pulling myself out of my thoughts. “As I said before, she can move in with me. That way, I can truly be present for her and the baby.”
“Very well then,” her lawyer says, pushing the agreement drawn up by my lawyers across the table to me. Natasha’s name is scribbled at the bottom. “We will be in contact once the baby arrives to put a custody agreement in place.”
I nod, standing from the chairs, ready to leave, but stop and glance at Natasha. “You can move in to my penthouse tomorrow. It gives me time to get my shit in order.” I watch her as she smiles with triumph. “And one other thing, while we’re co-parenting and making it work, I expect you to have no outside relations, as well as I. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal,” she says, as I turn to leave.
Now to just put up with Natasha till the truth can be revealed. Let’s just hope it’s sooner rather than later.
Chapter 14
Cassidy
8 Weeks Later
Ispring from the bed and rush toward the bathroom, praying that I make it in time before spewing my guts all over my bedroom floor. I’ve been sick as a dog for almost a week now—granted it gets better throughout the day, but no matter what I do, I can’t seem to keep anything down. I want to blame being around Camden and Everly, but we all know that’s a lie. I’ve been holed up in my home like a hermit since Channing decided to break my heart—again.
“Maybe I can just blame this on my broken heart,” I mutter to no one but myself just as the door to my master bath flies open.
“Oh, good Lord,” Sydney says as she sees me hugging the porcelain throne. “Don’t call the police. She’s in here.”
I sit up and rest my head against the bathroom vanity as I listen to heavy footsteps rush toward my bedroom. Sydney sits on the edge of the tub as Hayley comes into view.
“Oh, thank God. I was beginning to think you were kidnapped,” she says, looking at me sideways. “Umm, are we not doing brunch anymore?”
“Does it look like I can do brunch?” I say, knowing I look exactly how I feel—like garbage. “I thought I texted you both to cancel?”
